Retractible spout



I Aug. 31, 1943.

w. B. JOHNSON RETRACI'IBLE 'SPOUT Filed Sept. 30, 1941 jam/M44 Patented Aug. 31, 1943 UNITED STATES vPATENT OFFICE aura-sorrow srou'r William B. Johnson, United States Army pp ication September so, 1941, Serial No. 412,913

(Cl. 221-21) I (Granted under the m of March 3, 1883, as

amended April 30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 75'!) Claims.

'- ing spout adapted to be used on sheet metal containers such as gasoline cans.

The prime object of the invention is to provide a conversion unit whereby a standard type a conventional, simple type of screw threaded closure plug but, as pointed out hereinbefore, the

of gasoline can equipped with a conventional flllins opening and screw threaded plug may be converted into a rectractible spout assembly, the arrangement being such that the retractible spout may be extended from the can when desired, or may be shifted to a position completely within-the can, so that the standardclosure plug can be used in connection with the retractible spout in the same manner, that it op- Figure 213 a plan view of the container mouth I and upper portion, of the spout shown with the closure plug removed, and

Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken substantially on the plane of the line 33 in Fig. l.

The numeral l0 indicates generally a sheet metal container such as a fuel oil can. Inasmuch as the can itself forms no particular part of the present invention and is described and claimed in full in my co-pending application,

Serial No. 412,975, flied September 30, 1941, it

will not be described in detail in this specification. Itshould be noted, however, that the can "I includes the usual type of relatively large filler opening provided with a screw threaded neck member it provided with a flange i2 on its outer face, whereby it is secured to the metal of the can by a crimp i3 surrounding the filler opening and defining a sealing surface l4. The sealing surface l4 may be formed directly on the neck but it is preferable to crimp the metal of the can top about the flange as indicated at l3 so that the metal of the'can top extends inwardly over the flange l2.

A closure plug I5 is threaded into the neck portion ii and is provided with a sealing flange l6 arranged to cooperate with the sealing surface 14 to complete the closure. A gasket I1 is positioned between the sealing surface i4 and the flange i6 so that when the closure plug is tightened down by the lugs I8 the gasket acts to completely seal the filling opening.

As thus far described, the structure constitutes object of this invention is to provide means whereby such a construction may be converted into a structure having a retractible spout which the internal flange 22 on the bottom of the neck,

H and a gasket 23 is provided to prevent the leakage of liquid between these surfaces. The base plug 2| is provided with a central orifice 24, which is of generally circular shape but which includes a pair of bayonet notches 26 and 21 on opposite sides of the center. A cylindrical spout 3| is fitted into the orifice 24 and is provided at its lower end with a flange 32 and a pair of bayonet lugs 33 and 34. The arrangement is such that the bayonet lugs 33 and 34 may pass through the notches 26 and 2'! whenever the sleeve 3| is raised to its extended position but the lugs 33 and 34 are so spaced from the flange 32 that the flange 32 will be brought to bear against the lower surface of the plug 2| when the lugs 33 emerge from the notches 26 and 21 and the flange 32 may be locked in face-to-iace relationship with the lower surface of the base plug 2| by slightly rotating the spout 3|, as indicated in Fig. 2, so that the lugs 33 and 34 overlie a solid portion of the plug. .With the parts in this position, the spout 3| will be positively locked in its extended position, and may be used for the purpose of directing liquids from the container in the usual manner. To prevent leakage, however, it is usually preferable to provide a gasket 35 to complete the sealing action between the flange 32 and the lower surface of the flange 2|.

The upper extremity of the spout 3| is also provided with a slightly enlarged flange 36, to prevent" the spout 3| from falling into the body of the container by limiting its inward movement.

tioned at the lower extremity of the neck I I, will not be easily accessible without special tools. For this reason, means have been provided whereby this base plug 2| may be screwed into or out of the neck without the use of any wrenches or tool other than the spout structure itself. To accomplish this, a pair of raised lugs 31 and 38 are provided on the upper surface of the base plug in such a position that they may be engaged by the lugs 33 and 34; thus, while the spout 3| is free for axial sliding movement and rotational movement with respect to the plug 2|, this movement is limited by the engagement of the lugs 33 and It with the his: I! and I8. Withthls arrangement, if it is desired to remove the spout conversion unit from the filler opening of the container, it is only necessary to twist the 'extended spout Si in a counterclockwise direction until the lugs 33 and M engage the lugs 31 and I8 and to continue the rotational movement of a the spout until 'the'base plug 2| is completely una,saa,oao Y face at the lower extremity of the. pouring spout arranged to coact with a sealing surface of the base; bayonet lugs on the pouring spout arranged to pass through and cooperate with the bayonet notches of the base to maintain the aforementioned sealing surfaces in engagement; and additional lugs associated with the base to limit the relative rotating movement between the spout and base and' thus transmit force between the version unit may be instantly removed and will leave the filling orifice unaltered.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a container, including a filler opening provided with female screw threads, and adapted to be closed by a screwthreaded plug having an external sealing flange, a removable and retractible pouring spout conversion unit, including a base plug externally threaded with male screw threads adapted to fit and cooperate with the female threads of the aforementioned filler opening; a central circular opening in the base plug including diametrically opposed bayonet notches, a. plurality of lugs p0- sitioned on the upper face ofthe base plug and closely adjacent the central opening; a generally cylindrical pouring spout slidably mounted within the central opening of the base plug, and arranged for limited axial and" rotating movement with respect thereto; a sealing surface at the lower extremity of the pouring spout arranged to coact with a sealing surface of the base plug; bayonet lugs on the pouring spout arranged to pass through and cooperate with the bayonet notches of the base plug to maintain the aforementioned sealing surfaces in engagement; and additional lugs associatedwith the base plug to limit the relative rotating movement between the spout and plug and thus transmit force between the spout and plug whereby the entire assembly may be threaded into or removed from the filler opening of the container by the continued rotation of the pouring spout;

2. In combination with a containenincludinig a filler opening provided with screw threads, and adapted to be closed by a screw-threaded member having sealing surfaces; aremovable and retractible pouring spout conversion unit, including a base having sealing surfaces and screw threads adapted toiit and cooperate with the threads of the aforementioned filler opening; a central circular opening in the base including bayonet notches, a plurality of lugs positioned on the base and closely adjacent the central opening; a generally cylindrical pouring spout slidlably mounted within the central opening of the base and arranged for limited axial and rotating movement with respect thereto: a sealing surspout and base whereby the entire assembly may be threaded into or removed from the filler opening of the container by the continued rotation of the pouring spout. 1 4

3. In combination with a container, including a flller opening provided with female screw threads,

and adapted to be closed by a screw-threaded plug having male screw threads fitted to'said fe- .male threads and having an external sealing flange adapted toseal directly against the edge of the filler opening, a retractible pouring spout, including a base plug having a central circular opening and diametrically opposed bayonet notches, a generally cylindrical pouring spout slidably mounted within the central opening and arranged for limited axial movement with respect thereto; a sealing surface at the lower extremity of the pouring spout arranged to coact with the central opening, said sealing surface comprising a flange of less diameter than the filler opening to permit removal of the spout from the container and bayonet lugs on the pouring spout arranged to pass through and cooperate with the bayonet notches of the base plug to maintain the aforementioned sealing surfaces in engagement.

4. Incombination with a container, including a filler opening and adapted to be closed by a plug having a sealing flange, a retractible pouring spoutincluding a base, a central circular opening in the base including bayonet notches, a generally cylindrical pouring spout slidably mounted. 7

within the central opening and arranged for axial and rotating movement with respect thereto; a sealing surface at the lower extremity of the pouring spout arranged to coact with the sealing surface of the base and bayonet lugs on the pouring spout arranged to pass through and cooperate with the bayonet notches of the base to maintain the aforementioned sealing surfaces in engagement.

5. In combination with a container, including a filler opening provided with screw threads, and having a sealing flange, a removable and retractible pouring spout conversion unit, including a base plug with screw threads adapted to fit and cooperate with the threads of the aforementioned filler opening; a base plug having a circular opening therein and diametrically opposed bayonet notches, a generally cylindrical pouring spout slidably mounted within the central opening of the base plug and arranged for limited axial and rotating movement with respect thereto; a sealing surface at the lower extremity of the pouring spout arranged to coact with the sealing surface of the base plug and bayonet lugs on the pouring spout arranged to pass through and cooperate with the bayonet notches of the base plug to maintain the aforementioned sealing surfaces in engagement, the entire assembly being adapted to be threaded into or removed from the filler opening of the container.

- WILLIAM B. JOHNSON. 

